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68 INSITE AUTUMN 2011
Adrian Iredale
Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects’
Adrian Iredale shares his inspirations
AstoldtoColletteSwindellsPhotographyRobSimeon(portrait)ArchitecturalphotographycourtesyAdrienIredale
FROMTOPAn Enric Mirallesdesign; Alvar Aalto’s house in Scandinavia, which was experimental
in its use of bricks; Adrien at his studio; another Alva Aalto design; an interior by Sigurd Lewerentz.
WHO I went to Berlin in 1993 to study the work of a particular German
architect – the late Hans Scharoun – who was based in Berlin and produced a
series of wo rk s star ting with the famou s Weisse nhoff Estate in Stuttgar t. At the
same time, I did fu rther research u n der an other i ncredible architect n amed Enric
Miralles, who was based in B arcelo na . H e was the architect fo r the S cottish
Parliament building in Edinburgh, as well as a whole other collection of buildings,
mainly in Spain, as well as quite a few more scattered throughout Europe and
Japan. More recently, I ’ve been doing quite a lot of field trips to Scandinavia, in
par ticula r to study the work of the late Sigurd Leweren tz.
WHY I think, in particular, with Hans Scharoun, it was very much his social
o rien tatio n towards wo rk. If he was designing a scho ol, he would research the
psychological impact of space – in terms of informal space, where light should be
and how an entire school could be structured into upper, middle and lower
scho ols, an d how studen ts might want to iden tify with certain aspects of the
school. There is a social quality in the work we try to engage with in our studio,
a nd explo re in all of o ur projects. This process-driven [approach] o r sen se of
discovery through design, was very much a part of both Hans Scharoun’s and
Enric Miralles’ work . A s much as it is possible, we like to open up the pro cess by
exorcising the demo ns of o ur past design s an d removing preco nceived ideas.
WHAT Pa rticularly from Enric Miralles [who died in 200 0], the challen ge of
how one works from within an existing built context, as well as a cultural context,
is where some of his most in credible wo rks were created. H e was ver y mu ch about
how one doesn’t try to wipe out what exists already – which is a process that happens
too much in Perth. We go through this amnesia almost, with every economic boom,
w here we want to rewrite the city, and in the process of doing that remove the
history of the city, wipe it clean and start again. But our process is about creating
richness – working with all the fragments to build a n ew stor y fo r the futu re.
Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects (08) 9322 9750, iredalepedersenhook.com.
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